Her little secret
by xXSyel-KisaXx
Summary: He doesn't know. She doesn't want him to know. Having to raise a child without the father or a family is difficult, Amu has figured that out the hard way. When Ikuto returns after five years of being away, what will happen?
1. Chapter 1

In this fic, I'm going to have everyone be the same age I believe. I think it would be a little easier that way. I hope that this story will be enjoyable for all who decide to read it! Its my very first Shugo Chara fanfic and I hope it turns out well, I just finished watching the series hehe.

Disclaimer: The only character mentioned that I created here would be Mizuki. All others belong to Peach-pit. I only wrote the story.

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"Be good for Uncle Nagihiko, alright?" The pink haired young woman had knelt down so that she was at the same eye level as a certain raven haired little girl. "He is very kind to be here while mama goes to a very important interview." despite these words, she could tell that the little girl wasn't happy about this outcome for the day.

"I wanted to play with mama more today." she said, her eyes lowered to the ground as tears started to build up at the corners of her azure eyes. "You wont be gone for long... right?"

Hinamori Amu furrowed her eyebrows and she nodded with a small smile, "I shouldn't be gone too long sweetie, I should be back before dinner." With that, she rose and straightened her dress shirt a little and bowed her head to her childhood friend. "Thank you very much for doing this for me, Nagi." she said softly. "I'll be sure to pay you the moment I can do so."

The black haired young man was grinning as he shook his head, "Don't worry about it Amu, you know how much I enjoy watching over Mizuki." After thanking Nagi once more, Amu turned and left the Fujisaki household. She paused and waved to her sulky Mizuki and an upbeat Nagihiko before she turned her back on them once more.

Its been five years since she was gifted with Mizuki. Though things have been rough since the moment she found out she was pregnant, she was doing her best to get through it all with as little help from others as she could.

For a little while, Amu did work from inside her apartment. She wanted desperately to be there for her daughter while she was growing up. The way she made money was from commissions she would get from people who wanted her to draw their characters. Since she was young, she had been working on her skill with art and her effort was worth it in the end.

Her work was high in demand and she was able to survive these last few years with Mizuki on her own in an apartment with the money she would get from her commissions. Though her family didn't show their discomfort after they found out that she was pregnant so young, Amu knew that they didn't approve and she didn't want to make them go through any trouble for her sake. The last thing she wanted was to become a burden to her parents who had been there for her since the start. She knew that they were hurt that she wouldn't even tell them who the father was.

She hadn't told anyone.

She rarely spoke to any of her family these days.

That was all her of course, Amu didn't make any effort to stay in contact after she left her parents house when she gave birth to Mizuki.

It was especially rough the first few months. Though she had saved up a decent amount to keep them safe for a little while, being a mother was like reality slapping her in the face.

She learned many things and really grew up quickly.

Amu was completely fine with that of course, Mizuki quickly became the center of her world. Now, she wouldn't dream of a life without her beautiful daughter. She wanted to do her best to keep Mizuki happy and healthy.

That was why she decided it was time to get an actual job.

She wanted to go buy an actual house. She wanted Mizuki to have her own room and have a yard to play in rather than having to go to the park. It was for her that she would do her best to try and cope with the outside world.

After so long of staying at home with Mizuki, Amu had almost forgotten what it was like to be out and about. She would on occasion feel really anxious while she went out for groceries. Though her friends from high school often came over for chats and to play with Mizuki, Amu didn't think that was all that great of a prep for the real world.

It was time to do her best and find her way back into society now that Mizuki would be starting school within these next few days; so it was a good time to go about doing this.

The other day Rima had come over with an application from where she worked, stating that they were hiring and that if Amu filled out the application, the blonde would give it to her boss later that day when she went to work.

Amu got a call that morning from Rima's job asking if today would be good for an interview. The pink haired young woman had jumped on the opportunity, thinking it was too good to be true.

As she neared her destination, Amu started to feel nervous. What if her people skills were too rusty to come across as good enough? Shaking her head, she tried to rid herself of these daunting thoughts before she stopped walking and hesitated at the cafe entrance.

Swallowing, the young woman looked around before she exhaled slowly and steeled herself as she walked right into Sanae's Cafe.

Almost instantly she was greeted by Rima.

"I'll take you to my boss' office." she said lightly before she gestured for Amu to follow her, "He's been expecting you."

Amu chuckled lightly as she was lead by the shorter girl, "Thanks again for this Rima."

The light haired girl didn't say anything before she stopped walking and knocked on a door.

"Come in."

Rima then pushed Amu towards the door before she shot her a smile, "Good luck!" she whispered as she hurried off back to doing her job.

Amu felt herself stiffen before she nodded, "Okay." she said softly as she opened the door and entered the room.

Things were about to get interesting she was sure.

"Nikaidou?!" Amu exclaimed in surprise earning a smirk from the man.

"Long time no see, Hinamori Amu."

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Oh dear, I really had a lot of fun with this. I hope that others can enjoy the story, I think its going to be a ton of fun to write.

I would love to hear what you all think about it c:

- Syel


	2. Chapter 2

I'm honestly a bit surprised that I came out with the second chapter so soon! I Really enjoy writing this story, its a pretty good way to vent my emotions. I just want you all to know that I'm sorry if there are any mistakes.

I would like to thank my three reviewers! I'm glad to know that you guys are enjoying my story so far and I hope that you continue to 3

**Please R&R~**

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"Since when did you go into the food business?" Amu asked, completely stunned that her old High school teacher was now running a cafe. She wondered why Rima hadn't told her sooner... perhaps it was because she wanted Amu to be as shocked as she probably was when she found out as well.

The brown haired male shrugged his shoulders as he leaned back in his chair. "When my mother passed away a few years ago, she left the cafe to me for some strange reason. Since the cafe was fairly popular, I figured I may as well keep it running," Amus eyes instantly softened at this as he continued. "It makes pretty good pay anyway," he smirked and Amu sighed, "Now... lets get this little interview started. I'd like to get you out there and working as soon as possible. One of our girls recently moved and I'd like to keep our servers at a steady seven."

Amu nodded and took a seat in front of Nikaidou's desk and readied herself for the questions.

The interview went by relatively quickly and once it was over, Amu felt relief wash over her like a flood. "It looks like you've got a job now little miss, I'd like for you to start off tomorrow afternoon. How does the shift two to ten sound?" Amu had to think about it for a moment before she nodded hesitantly. That should be fine, she was sure that Nagihiko wouldn't mind watching over Mizuki for that time.

"Do you suppose... that once my daughter starts kindergarten the day after tomorrow I could have morning shifts? I would really like to be there for my daughter after school.

Nikaidou nodded with a smile, "That sounds like a good plan, I don't mind that at all. I will see if any of our other waitress' don't mind switching with you and we will decide what happens from that point on. When you get here tomorrow for your first day, Rima will have your uniform and help with training you. She usually has morning shifts as well so it will work out nicely."

With a grin, Amu bowed her head a little when she stood up from the chair. "Alright, Thank you so much for this opportunity, I'll see you tomorrow ." with that, she left the room with a bit of a more uplifted mood.

The walk home was a bit easier on the young woman and she actually smiled at those she passed on the street.

She was feeling a lot more like her old, outgoing self.

She hasn't felt this particular sense of joy since she was with _him_.

The thought made Amu freeze in place and her eyes widened. It had been such a long time since she last thought about him... why the sudden memory? Why now? Why when everything was starting to look up for both her and Mizuki?

Just when Amu thought she had been able to rid herself of just about every memory of him... the memories come flooding back.

It wasn't fair.

Shaking her head quickly, Amu frowned. No, she wouldn't let her good mood be brought down by the guy who failed to be there for her when she needed him the most.

Of course... she understood why he had left. She had even supported him. Though it has been over five years since then and over time, she couldn't help but feel bitter now whenever she thought about him.

He couldn't possibly have known that she was pregnant with his child since he was gone before she found out herself. Amu couldn't help but wonder... if he would have stayed if he knew.

None of that really mattered now, Amu doubted he would ever return Even if he did, she honestly didn't think she would have the heart to tell him. He would feel guilty for not being there. She knew he would. The guy wasn't a bad person after all.

No matter how much she wished he was. Amu _wanted_ to have a reason to hate him. Just so that she wouldn't feel so much heartache whenever thoughts of him crossed her mind.

"Mama?"

The pink head of hair jerked up and Amu barely had enough time to ready herself before little arms wrapped themselves around her legs. "Why do you look so sad? Did you not get the job?"

She looked just like him.

Looking down into the wide, cobalt eyes of her daughter she smiled softly as she ruffled the little girls feather soft hair. "No, mommy got the job sweet heart. Mommy was just thinking about some things." she then looked up to see a concerned Nagihiko who had caught up to Mizuki.

Though she hadn't told anyone about who Mizuki's father was, Amu knew that most of her friends had a pretty good idea as to who it could be. No one said anything though since it was obviously a very touchy topic for the young mother.

"I was just going to take her to the park, I'm glad that you got the job!" Nagi was smiling, though it was obviously forced.

Mizuki nodded with a wide grin, "Yeah! But now I'm hungry, can we go home and eat mama?" Amu nodded and the little girl took her mothers hand and started to try and lead her away.

"Hold on sweetie, I need to talk to Uncle Nagi for a second." The little girl nodded before she released her mothers hand and went to chase after a butterfly what was fluttering just above her head. Amu turned her golden gaze onto the fair skined male whos full attention was on her. "Would you mind watching Mizuki from two to ten tomorrow? It should be my only shift where I'll be working in the afternoon."

Nagihiko furrowed his eyebrows as he nodded slowly, "Yes, of course. I wouldn't mind at all..." he trailed off as his gaze landed on the little girl who was giggling. "Amu... she was asking me about her father again today. I think she knows that you don't like talking about him, she is a smart little girl." Amu lowered her eyes. "I think it might be a good idea that you start talking about him a little more, the girl is really curious."

Amu sighed before she put on a smile and looked up, "Thank you for agreeing to watch over her, Nagi. And I... I'll think about it, alright?" Nagi just nodded before he returned his attention back on Mizuki.

"I'll see you later Mizuki, be good for your mama." He waved to them both before he turned and walked the short distance back to his house. Amu hadn't realized how close she was to her destination before she wound up stopping to think.

"Bye uncle Nagi!" Mizuki exclaimed waving before she reclaimed Amu's hand. "Lets go mama!" she said happily and Amu couldn't help but smile before she let her daughter lead them back to where their own home was.

It looked like things were going to be very different for both herself and her daughter from that point on. Now that Amu would be working, and Mizuki would be going to kindergarten... she couldn't help but wonder how much they would change. She hoped that Mizuki would forever remain the sweet little girl that she was.

Though she knew better than anyone, just how little it takes to change someone.

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Whoops! Looks like someone is starting to think about a certain someone again! What will happen next?

-Syel


	3. Chapter 3

I can't believe that I am posting so quickly! I must be really motivated or something xD It might be because I have a lot of this story already planned out to an extent.

Please R&R so that I know you guys are enjoying the story~

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The first day working at Sanae's wasn't that bad. Amu was surprised with how easy it actually was to smile and greet customers. Rima only needed to help her out with a few things. Amu had a feeling that she would actually end up enjoying the time that she spent working with these people. One of the other waitress' offered to switch shifts with Amu once she heard about the pinkettes little predicament with her daughter and how she wanted to be home while her child was.

"I have been planning on asking the boss for a change in hours anyway." the young woman named Amelia had said with a smile while they were in the changing room after their shifts were done with. It seemed as though on the weekends most shift times got mixed up. Normally Amelia worked in the morning as well, "You should be with your daughter as much as you can, especially since the father isn't in the picture." The mention of the father almost had made Amu wince, though she was fairly good at hiding these things now.

She had thanked the lavender haired waitress excessively before she left the changing room and then the cafe.

Now she was making her way back to her apartment. Nagihiko had agreed to staying over at Amu's apartment that night so that Mizuki didn't have to stay up to late waiting for her mother to return from work.

Looking up at the sky, Amu exhaled slowly as her eyes landed on the full moon. Sometimes, Amu felt as though the large rock in the sky called to her. Though she knew this was absurd.

When she got to her apartment, she opened the door slowly and tip-toed her way inside. When she saw that Nagihiko was sitting right there at the kitchen table she offered a small smile as she closed the door behind her.

"How was she?" Amu asked with concern obvious in her voice. Since Amu rarely ever spent too much time away from Mizuki, she was worried that the little girl hadn't taken it well.

Nagi hesitated before he smiled, "At first it was a little difficult, though she seemed to get used to the idea that you needed to go to work now." his smile softened a little, "she really does love you. She is always saying how she wants to be just like you one day, Amu. You've done a great job in raising her. I'm really proud of you."

Shrugging off her light jacket, Amu shook her head. "I have no idea how I managed it. I was really worried at first. I didn't want to mess up. I'm glad that you think she is turning out well. I can only hope to continue to be a good influence in her life."

Nagihiko rose from his seat and nodded, "I'm sure you will do wonderfully Amu. You are really strong for doing all of this by yourself." he made his way towards the door now as Amu moved to the sink after she grabbed a clean cup from a cupboard. She took notice in the fact that all the dishes were done and sitting in the drying rack. "If you ever need help with anything, don't hesitate to call."

With that, the dark haired young man left the house and Amu sighed lightly as she leaned heavily against the counter. She pinched the bridge of her nose as she turned on the sink and filled her glass up with water.

Nagihiko was always taking care of her. Did she really deserve these friends who were always willing to help her out? Especially considering how much she has changed over the last five years?

Amu had a feeling that this new job would really help her out when it came to gaining back some of her lost personality, though she would still be very mature for a twenty-two year old.

Taking a sip of the luke warm water, Amu shook her head and put the glass on the counter before she turned and made her way slowly to her room and Mizuki's room after making sure that all the lights were turned off.

As quietly as she could, Amu made her way into the room and crawled into her bed.

It didn't take long for her to fall asleep.

**~+The Next Morning+~ **

Yawning widely, Amu shook her head before grabbing an order of coffee and turning to deliver. "You remind me of a cat when you do that," Nearly jumping out of her skin and spilling the coffee, Amu jerked her head to see an amused Rima raise her eyebrow. "Not get enough sleep last night?" she asked bemusedly as she followed Amu to the table that she was delivering the coffee to.

"You could say that." Amu said lightly. Truth was, she was haunted by certain... memories that made it impossible for the pink haired woman to even think about falling asleep for fear of dreaming. "I got maybe an hour of sleep in total last night."

Rimas mouth dropped open, "Really? I wouldn't have guessed, you don't look too bad for not getting much sleep." Amu laughed a little before she turned to face the blonde.

"Shouldn't you be worrying about customers?" she asked as she put her hands on her hips, "I don't think that my sleeping habits should really be your concern right now."

Giggling softly Rima shrugged and skipped off, earning a sweat-drop from Amu along with a little bit of a head shake.

"Hinamori, a customer is requesting your service over at table three." Amu blinked when a blue eyed waitress named Lulu told her this and she nodded as she pulled out her little note pad and made her way over to said table.

Digging around in her little pocket that was in her red and black maid uniform, she searched for her pen. "Hello, do you know what you would like from us today?" she asked as she smiled when she finally found that pen.

"I would like you, but I don't think that is on the menu."

Amus eyes widened when she almost immediately recognized the voice and slowly, she looked up from her pad of paper and into the deep blue eyes of a certain young man who had a mischievous grin on his lips.

It took all the self control that she had to _not_ run. That was her very first instinct.

Amu felt her eyes harden when she closed them as she readied her pen over the paper. "You're right, that isn't on the menu. Do you need another minute to decide what you would like?"

Tsukiyomi Ikuto blinked in confusion at the response he received from the pink haired waitress before he frowned, did she not recognize him? "Do you remember me?" he asked, not really sure what he had done to deserve her cold reply. Sure he was gone a long time, though he was pretty sure that Amu had been aware that he'd be gone for a while. He honestly thought that five years wasn't all that long at all. It could have been much longer.

Amu nodded and turned her narrowed, golden eyes on the violinist, "Of course I remember you, Ikuto. Now, are you going to order anything or am I wasting my time on you?"

That response kind of pissed him off. "I was kind of expecting at least a little bit of excitement for my homecoming." he said with a frown and Amu grimaced.

Turning she didn't look back as she spoke, "I'm working, don't bother me." with those final words, she left Ikuto and moved on to someone else who had just sat themselves down on the opposite side of the cafe.

The next time her eyes moved to the area where Ikuto had been sitting, she quickly discovered that he was no longer there and she almost sighed in relief.

A few hours later, her shift was completed and she was rushing with getting herself changed out of her uniform and putting on a dress that she had bought herself the other day when she was passing by a little store with a sign that said everything on the inside was half off. It was a yellow sun dress, since it had been warmer out that morning she figured she might as well wear it.

When she finished changing she bid Rima farewell and hurried out the door. She had twenty minutes to get to Mizuki's school before it was time for the parents to pick up their kids.

Mizuki's kindergarten class wasn't too far from the cafe, though Amu didn't want to risk anything since it was her daughters first day of school.

"So, just why are you in such a rush Strawberry?" she should have known that the guy wouldn't give up like that. She supposed that she had been a bit too hopeful.

"That is none of your concern." she stated simply, not looking to her right where the young man was easily keeping up with her quick paced steps.

"Wait a second Amu!" the seriousness in Ikutos tone made Amu stop, though she didn't turn still. "Why are you so angry? Are you upset that I didn't return sooner?" Amu didn't say anything. "Why else would you be angry?"

Why else? Flashes of certain memories popped into mind, memories of the man who stood beside her. Memories about how he had been drunk one of the nights before he left, memories about how he so easily took her virginity and then forgot.

She wouldn't have been so hurt about it if she hadn't gotten pregnant, because she knew that he loved her. That was what made it alright. Though since she _did_ end up getting pregnant, and someone inevitably was going to have to suffer because of their irresponsibility, she couldn't help but be upset with him. Though she was mostly upset with herself for letting it happen in the first place. He was drunk, though he wouldn't have done anything if she told him not to.

She knew he wouldn't have..

All she knew now was that she needed to somehow get him off her tail since she needed to get to her daughters school. "I don't love you anymore Ikuto." she said when she finally turned to look at him, her eyes were stone cold. There wasn't a single waver in her tone to show that she was lying and the young man stumbled back a step at the sharp words, as though they physically hurt him. "So _please_, leave me alone."

The look in his eyes... it was that of genuine hurt. She stared right back as he searched her own eyes for a moment before he snickered and looked away. "I see..." he trailed off, "That is unfortunate." he scoffed, though it sounded hollow. Much like his voice. "Well, I guess I'll see you around then." with that, the guy turned and walked off.

Amu gritted her teeth, trying to keep any tears from falling as she started walking again. While her feet kept on going, her heart was telling her to stop and run back into the arms that she had missed for five long years. Though she knew that she couldn't possibly do that.

She had Mizuki to think about.

She couldn't afford to risk putting her heart through any unnecessary trauma.

Not to mention the fact that the chances of Mizuki getting attached were fairly great. Amu didn't know what she would do if Ikuto wound up breaking her little girls heart. Amus heart was one thing, it was an entirely different story when it came to Mizuki's.

With a soft sigh, Amu arrived at the little kindergarten and realized that she still managed to get there early.

The bell then rang and her eyes widened slightly when she realized her luck as the children started running out not two seconds after the bell resounded throughout the area.

Her own daughter was one of the first to leave the building and it didn't take long for the happy little girl to find her mother.

"Mama!" Mizuki exclaimed happily as she threw her arms around her mothers legs. When she looked up, her eyes were shining, "Can I learn how to play the violin please?" The amount of excitement in her voice was high and Amu's heart nearly stopped beating at the question.

She had to calm herself before she cleared her throat and knelt down to the girls level, "Why the violin?" she asked feeling slightly thrown off. Mizuki didn't seem to notice how much this question affected her mothers mental stability.

"The teacher was playing a CD for us while we colored and I thought it was a pretty sound. When I asked her what was making the sound, she told me that it was called a 'violin' and she showed me a picture of it. I really wanna learn how to play it mama!"

She really was her fathers daughter.

"Uh, sure sweetie. Mommy will have to look around to see if she can find a good tutor for you."

"My teacher gave me this, saying that this guy is good." Mizuki said proudly as she pulled out a crinkled piece of paper from her pink backpack.

Amu took the paper and she couldn't believe her eyes.

On the paper was a picture of Ikuto playing the violin and in a fancy looking font it said 'Violin lessons' along with a very detailed description of what to expect. Though before she knew it, her eyes were watering too much for her to be able to actually read what was on the paper, all the letters blurred together.

"Mama? Whats the matter? Are you alright?" Mizuki's concerned voice brought Amu back to reality and she wiped at her eyes before she smiled and nodded.

"Yes, I'm fine... here, how about we go ahead and give this guy a call?" There was no way she could let her daughter down after she was so obviously excited for this.

Though... just _how_ would she go about this? Especially after everything she had said to him?

Surely he would recognize himself in Mizuki... right?

This was going to be rough.

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So yeahhhh I just love putting Amu through pain- /slapped

Amu: *glares* Seriously, that is NOT fair.

hehe ANYWAY please review 3

_- Syel _


	4. Chapter 4

I'd like to thank the three of you who reviewed chapter 3! I really appreciate it! Reviews always make me smile c:

I'm not sure how I feel about this chapter though, I would love to hear what you guys think about it!

**Please R&R 3**

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"Mommy, can I go get a drink at the drinking fountain over there? I'm really thirsty." Mizuki asked as she tugged on Amu's dress to get the pink haired woman's attention. They had just gotten to the small building the flier had directed them to and it didn't appear as though anyone was there at the moment.

The inside of the small studio was fairly empty, she couldn't help but wonder when Ikuto had returned. Just how long have the two been so close and she didn't know?

"Go ahead, I'm going to go over here to look for the teacher." she said as she watched the little girl run to get to the drinking fountain before she turned to try and search for Ikuto.

She didn't have to look long.

"What are you doing here?" Amu spun on her heel to see the dark haired man coming from a different room in the building. Though his expression didn't give away much, Amu knew that he couldn't possibly be pleased with discovering her there after what had happened earlier. "YOU want to learn how to play the violin?"

Amu hesitated, "Not exactly-"

"Okay mama, I'm ready for my lessons now!" Mizuki exclaimed cheerily as she ran into the room, a large grin on her face before she realized that Amu had found the teacher and she blinked up at him with curiosity, instantly closing her mouth.

Internally, Amu winced before she looked from Mizuki and back to Ikuto who was staring at the little girl with widened eyes and Amu pulled the little girl a little closer to her when she looked down. "Remember what I told you? We are just here to see if its possible sweetie." when she looked back to the violinist, he was watching Amu now.

"You... have a daughter?" his voice had almost none of the usual playful tone to it. Amu nodded.

"Yes. She is five years old and very interested in learning how to play the violin. I wasn't sure if coming here would be a good idea though, if you would rather not have us as customers I can go and find someone else to teach her." Though she was sure that no one would be a better teacher than Ikuto, she didn't really feel comfortable with this situation enough as it was. She wouldn't put up too much of a fight if he decided that he didn't want to offer them his service.

He watched them both for a long moment before he turned, "Practice will be here on Mondays, Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays from three to five. We will start tomorrow, see you later." he said lightly before he turned and walked right back into the room that he had come from earlier, leaving Mizuki and Amu there gaping at the space he previously had occupied.

"Mama... he seems mean." Mizuki whispered as she held onto Amu's hand a little bit tighter and the woman sighed softly before she started to guide the little girl back towards the exit of the building. "Will he always be like that?"

It took Amu a little while to figure out how to respond to her daughter, for she still was in a little bit of a shock over the fact that father and daughter had just met and neither one knew it. "I guess we will have to see what happens tomorrow sweetie." Amu said gently as they found themselves outside once more. She looked around a little before turning left, "Now come on, let us go and get you your very first violin." This quickly erased Mizuki's worries and replaced them with joy as a large grin spread across her face.

"Okay!"

The two of them walked for a little while before they stopped in front of a violin store. "Artigiano di violino." Amu said softly before they entered the violin shop. It had been quite a while since the last time that she walked into this store. The last time was back when Ikuto broke one of the strings on his violin. They had been much younger back then.

"I'll be with you in a minute!" someone called from inside as the two walked in, causing a bell above the door to ring.

"Take your time!" Amu called back and watched with a little bit of a chuckle as Mizuki could barely contain her excitement at seeing all the beautiful violins that were on display throughout the tiny shop.

"Mama! They are all so pretty!" she exclaimed as she walked around, eyes shining while she stared in awe at all the musical instruments.

Before she could reply to her, someone joined them. "Thank you for your patience! What can I help you guys with today- Amu? Is that you?" Amu turned to see a surprised looking brunette young woman. When her eyes found Mizuki, the surprise turned to confusion before she tilted her head to the side, "Is this your daughter? She looks just like-"

"Ah, yeah its me." Amu said, quickly interrupting the green eyed girl before she could finish that sentence. "And yeah, this is my daughter. Her name is Mizuki. It is really nice to see you again after such a long time, Kotone."

Kotone hurried forward and wrapped her arms around Amu, "You look so different compared to the last time I saw you. I like how your hair looks long." when she pulled away she waved at Mizuki. "Its so nice to meet you Mizuki."

Mizuki peeked out from behind Amu's legs and offered a shy smile and Amu giggled softly, "She can be a little shy around strangers, but she warms up really quickly." she then cleared her throat before she looked back at Kotone, "The reason we are here today is because we would like to buy a violin from you. The little one decided that she really wanted to get into playing the violin."

Kotone gave Amu a look that she couldn't entirely decipher before she stretched. "Alright! That sounds lovely! I think I have just what you two are looking for... it looks to be about her size... hold on just one second." she said before she hurried off to the back room. She returned only a few seconds after the door closed with a little violin.

Holding it out to Mizuki she smiled, "Would like to hold it?"

Instantly, the girl was out from behind me and she nodded holding her hands out eagerly. "Yes please!" she exclaimed and Kotone smiled before she handed the raven haired girl the violin. Mizuki was very careful as she weighed the musical instrument in her hands for a moment before she looked up at Amu. "It is perfect mama! Can we please get it?"

Amu reached for her purse that was hanging at her side, "How much is it?" she asked softly as she started to dig through said purse for her wallet that seemed to be evading her for the moment.

"Free of charge, consider it a late baby shower gift." Kotone said with a giggle as she took a few steps back, "I'll go and get its case and some rosin and you will be set."

Amu didn't have enough time to object before Kotone left to the other room once more after taking the violin from Mizuki with a smile. When she returned however Amu furrowed her eyebrows when the case was given to Mizuki. "Kotone, I really appreciate the offer... but I would feel better if I paid you. Violins take a lot of time and care after all."

Waving Amu off, Kotone turned, "Don't worry about it! Just be sure to come to me if you have any issues with it, or if a string breaks! I'll be here!" she didn't leave any space for Amu to continue objecting before she left the room for good, leaving an excited Mizuki and a shocked Amu in her wake.

"Mama! I'm going to start learning how to play violin tomorrow! I'm so excited!" her daughter exclaimed, already heading towards the door. "Ms. Kotone is so nice!" she sang as they left the shop. "Hey mama, can we go home and eat now?"

Amu sighed softly as she nodded, "Sure thing dear, that sounds like a good plan to me."

So much happened in one day, all she really wanted was to go to bed and it was hardly even time for dinner.

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Again, I would really love to know your guys' opinion on this chapter since I have a bit of uncertainty.

Also, what do you all think about having a little love triangle between Amu, Ikuto and Nagihiko? I've been thinking about it and I'm not sure whether or not I should act on it :p

-Syel


	5. Chapter 5

Oh wow! I certainly didn't expect so much feedback! I really appreciate each and every comment that I received I was a bit surprised by how many people said that they like the story!

One suggestion in particular was from a guest who seems to have been reading my mind! I've decided what I'm going to do. Thank you everyone for the help! Its greatly appreciated!

**Please R&R**, I feel like writing this story and reading reviews is really helping me out a lot mentally right now. So thank you to those who read, and to those who review.

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"Hey, are you alright? You aren't looking so good Hinamori." Rima's concerned voice snapped Amu out of her daze and instantly she was blushing as she straightened up a little. "You are really pale Amu."

Forcing a smile, Amu ran a comb through her hair before she put it with all the rest of her stuff in the changing room that was at the cafe for all the waitress'. "I'm fine, just a little sleepy." Before the blonde haired waitress could argue with her, Amu headed out of the changing room and found her way to someone who had just sat down.

It had been a little over a week since Mizuki had started going to those violin lessons, after the first few, Amu started to drop Mizuki off and she would walk around until it was time to pick the little girl up.

She didn't feel comfortable sitting there, watching while Ikuto taught their daughter about the violin. Her heart seemed to ache more and more with each passing day. She didn't really know what to do about it so she thought that the most simple solution would to be avoid seeing Ikuto as much as possible. So now, the amount of time she saw him in total wasn't very long at all. They would exchange very brief greetings before she left. These short, awkward greetings really took a lot out of her though.

~*Rima's POV*~

From behind the counter, Rima watched Hinamori Amu's every step. Something was definitely up with the girl. She had been off since she started working at the cafe. Though Rima was fairly sure that Amu's change didn't have much to do with the fact that she was working now. Amu seemed to be enjoying what she did in the cafe, so it couldn't be work that was causing the woman so much pain. Whenever she'd bring it up, Amu would quickly change the subject and hurry off the second the opportunity presented itself.

She wondered for a moment if Nagihiko knew anything about what was happening with their friend. Out of all of them, Nagi was the one that was closest with Amu these days. If anyone knew anything, it would be that idiot.

Of course, that thought made Rima feel a little bit uncomfortable. She never understood the strange feelings she always felt whenever she thought about how close Nagihiko and Amu were. The only thing she took into consideration was the fact that they made her feel... anything but pleasant.

A loud crash came from somewhere behind her and Rima spun on her heel when she realized that she had taken her eyes off of Amu after she lost her train of thought.

"Hinamori!" other waitress' exclaimed and before she knew it, there was a little bit of a crowd going on in the little cafe and Rima hurried over to it and started to push her way through to the center of it all. A young man was barely managing to hold Amu up as he shook her shoulders a little. She didn't appear to be conscious.

"Hey, give her some space!" Rima exclaimed as she walked right up to the young man and Amu. "I knew that she wasn't feeling well." she said with a frown, "I'm sorry for the inconvenience, could you bring her to the back for me?" Rima asked the customer who nodded and lifted the unconscious waitress into his arms.

"She looked really faint when she was passing by my table with a tray of plates, I barely had time to get up before she passed out." He explained as he struggled to keep up with the quick moving waitress.

"Alright, lay her down right there." Rima directed, pointing to the long changing bench that was in the middle of the room. "You don't need to pay for your meal today for your act of kindness, I really appreciate it." she said before she bowed a little and asked for him to leave as she pulled out her cell phone and hurriedly searched through her contacts. Once she found what she was looking for, she hit 'send' and tapped her foot impatiently.

"Hello-?"

"Get to Sanae's cafe, now. Amu needs help." She didn't wait for an answer before she closed her phone and headed out to find that many of the waitress' were waiting right there.

"Go back to work, Amu will be going home shortly. Lulu, please go let Nikaidou know what happened. I'll finish cleaning up." Rima said, using her higher up position to help get everyone back into the swing of things. Lulu handed Rima the broom before she headed off and Rima sighed softly as she started to sweep up the shattered plates. Not a single one would be usable again. She supposed it was a good thing Amu had only been carrying three of them with her.

That girl would get a good talking to once she returned to her usual health.

A few minutes later, the mess was completely cleaned up and Rima was throwing away the plates when Nagihiko came running in. His eyes scanned the cafe before they landed on her and he hurried over to where she stood next to the trash can and she gestured for him to follow. "She passed out while working, I think you should take her home and force her to rest." Rima said lightly as she opened the door to the changing room to see that Amu was still unconscious. "I don't know whats wrong with her, I feel as though she might be pushing herself a little too hard or something."

Nagihiko was already at Amu's side and lifting her up gently into his arms, Rima had to look away. "I'll take care of her." he said as he started to walk away, "Thanks for calling me Rima." He said, not looking at her once as he hurried out of the room.

Watching him go after following him out of the changing room, Rima furrowed her eyebrows before she scoffed lightly. She supposed that the guy did have some redeeming qualities. At least he always seemed to be there for Amu when she needed him. That was really all that mattered. With everything that Amu had to go through practically by herself involving her pregnancy and while raising a child, it was good that she had a man in her life who could help out and support her whenever she needed it.

Even so... why was it that Rima felt so crummy about the fact that he didn't pay more attention to her? Obviously Rima didn't need it as much as Amu, though it would certainly be nice if he showed at least a _couple_ of the expressions that he always had whenever he was around the golden eyed young woman.

What would it be like if someone worried about her every now and again? She supposed that she wasn't going to find that out any time soon since she didn't really associate herself with many people. Those she _did_ spend time with outside of work were typically girls.

Of course, Rima could care less. She had never been in a romantic relationship with anyone, so it wasn't like she knew what she was missing out on. Though... perhaps that was what bothered her the most.

~+Nagihiko's POV+~

He had known that something was wrong the moment he saw who was calling him. Rima rarely ever made contact with him, if she did it was usually because something had happened with Amu. It looked like this would just prove that he was right. He was lucky to have been not far from the cafe when he received the call.

Something was certainly wrong. He had known for a little while now, though it seemed to be affecting her typically flawless health now. That thought made him wince a little before he shook his head as he came up to Amu's apartment. After a few moments of struggling to get the key from his pocket, he managed to unlock the door and let themselves in.

"... Nagi...?" the girl in his arms murmured as she started to regain consciousness. "Wha- I need to go get Mizuki." she stated as the blue-black haired young man carried her to her bedroom and put her on the bed closest to the door.

"You need to rest Amu." he said sternly, "I will go get Mizuki.

"But... her violin lessons... she can't miss a day." He could tell that she was pretty disoriented. "I'm _fine_ Nagi... let me go..." Her already red face seemed to darken even more as she struggled weakly against him.

"Amu. Stop it, you are sick. I'm sure Mizuki wouldn't want you to go around doing _anything_ if she knew you were this bad. I will take her to the violin lessons, Where is it and what time?"

Amu blinked glazed eyes up at him before she sighed when she must have realized that Nagihiko wasn't going to let her leave the house, "Her lessons are from three to five... she knows how to get there. Just take her violin when you go to get her."

Nagi looked around the room at that and took notice in the violin case that was on the other bed and he raised an eyebrow, this must have b een a fairly recent development. He didn't remember Mizuki mentioning anything about taking violin lessons the last time he had watched her.

"I'll be sure to take it." Nagi said as he brushed a strand of hair from Amu's face, "I'll be back in a second," he said gently before he left the room and entered the kitchen where he filled a bowl up with lukewarm water and grabbed a white wash cloth and returned to Amu.

"You need to take better care of yourself," He dipped the cloth into the water and made sure it was soaked before pulling it out and wringing it a little. "You really gave everyone at the cafe a little bit of a heart-attack, I wasn't paying very much attention to everyone there, though I'm pretty sure everyone was watching me leave with you."

Amu moaned quietly as she scrunched up her forehead at the thought. He put the cloth on her forehead and sighed. "When you don't feel well, call in. You shouldn't go to work when you are in such a condition."

"It wasn't this bad when I left the house this morning." she mumbled, a frown touching her lips. "I only felt a _little_ light headed, I didn't thin-"

"You are burning up!" Nagi exclaimed, successfully stopping Amu from continuing to make an excuse, "Even the slightest strange feeling can turn into something bad if not taken care of properly. What if you had hit your head when you passed out? You can not keep on putting yourself second Amu, your health is incredibly important."

Amu stared at Nagi with wide eyes before she offered a small smile and she reached out with a shaky hand and placed it gingerly on top of his. "You're right Nagi... I'm sorry for worrying you. I will try to be a little bit better when it comes to taking care of myself. Please watch over Mizuki while you have her, you should leave soon. She gets out almost right as soon as the bell rings."

Nagi sighed and nodded, "I'll go... we will be back as soon as her lessons are over. Sleep until then, Mizuki will be worried about you." Amu only closed her eyes before Nagi moved to where the violin case was and grabbed it before leaving the house and locking the door behind him.

There was really only one kindergarten school in the town so he could only assume that would be the one that Mizuki went to. When he got there, he realized that he must have been a little late since there were parents leaving with their children.

Looking around with light concern on his face, he was about to start really worrying.

"Uncle Nagi! Where is mommy?"

Turning, Nagihiko smiled at Mizuki who had just run up to him from the play set. "Mommy isn't feeling well right now, so she is sleeping. She asked me to take you to your violin lesson for her. Can you lead the way Mizuki?"

Mizuki frowned at the news before she nodded after a little bit of hesitation, "Yeah... are we going home right after? I wanna see mommy."

Nagihiko smiled a little, "Of course! She wants to see you too, so we will be going right home after you are done with your lesson. But Mommy told me to tell you to be good for your teacher and to focus." That may be a little bit of a fib, though he could tell already that the girl would be busy thinking about her mother instead of the lesson if he hadn't said something.

"Alright... lets go." The blue eyed girl said as she started walking.

Eventually, they stopped in front of a little building that stood between two larger buildings. When Mizuki started to walk up the steps and open the door, Nagihiko quickly followed after her.

"Can I have my violin?" Mizuki asked with a smile when she turned back to face Nagi. He blinked before he nodded and handed the girl the case.

"You are late-"

Nagi looked up in surprise when someone spoke and his eyes widened when they landed on a guy who he hadn't seen in years.

Tsukiyomi Ikuto?

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This one had a few POV changes xD I'm sorry if that got anyone confused, or if it made it seem sloppy. I hope that this chapter was good


	6. Chapter 6

So sorry for the wait guys! My internet was deactivated for a little while, but its back now and I'm sure we wont have to worry about that for a little while. Though I'm never really sure since we are not exactly 'well off' right now financially. Living check by check really is difficult! Though I'm sure we'll get through it.

I thought that I would let you guys know that in the time that the internet has been out, I drew Mizuki for those who are interested! I was bored and started doodling and was surprised with how well the drawing actually turned out~

Here it is: art/I-m-home-371533234

I would like to thank those of you who took the time to review, it was nice to read them after my absence ^-^

Well, without further ado... here is chapter 6 of** Her little secret**!

**Please R&R**

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Suddenly, Amu's behavior these past few days made so much more sense to Nagihiko. He wondered when Ikuto returned to town, surely it couldn't have been all that long ago at all. Since it was a relatively small town, word got around quickly. He was sure that if he had waited a couple more days, he would have heard of Ikuto's arrival one way or another.

"Huh, wasn't expecting you." the dark blue haired male said lightly, a touch of bitterness to his tone. "Wheres Amu?"

Nagihiko frowned at Ikuto as the two sized each other up. The testosterone levels would have been enough to choke someone who was conscious of these things. However, Mizuki didn't seem to notice the tension between the two adults as she answered Ikuto's question, "Mommy is sick, so Nagi brought me here today. He said that she needs to sleep." The violinist raised an eyebrow before he turned, "We are going straight home after my lessons today so that I can help take care of her. Mommy is almost never sick."

"I see... let me hear your A."

The way that Ikuto dismissed the news so easily really irked Nagihiko. He should show at least a _little_ bit of concern for the pink haired young woman. Especially considering it was a known fact that her immune system was relatively indestructible for the most part. He doubted he had ever witnessed her coming down with anything before this day. That was why he was so worried about Amu's well being right now.

"You don't need to stay you know." Ikuto said lightly as Mizuki started to get her violin out of the case and the long haired man moved towards the wall where he found a seat. "The lesson will be two hours, wouldn't you rather look after Amu instead of waiting around here?"

Nagihiko folded his arms as he sat down in a padded chair, "I promised to watch after Mizuki while she focuses on getting well again." Ikuto just chuckled lightly before he turned his attention onto the five year old who was waiting patiently for them to finish talking before she got into position and started to play the notes that Ikuto called for. Though they were all a little bit screechy, she was hitting the correct notes for the most part. Ikuto would only point out a mistake in note once or twice before he started to help fix the way that she was holding the instrument.

"Remember, you are holding it up between your shoulder and cheek. You only use your hand for changing the notes and vibrato. Though you don't need to worry about vibrato until much later..."

Just like that, Ikuto started directing and teaching the little girl.

Despite the fact that she had only just started playing a little less than a week ago, the young girl was really catching on quickly. The little girl really was something.

Nagihiko must have fallen asleep at some point because before he knew it, he felt something tugging on his arm. Instantly he snapped into the world of consciousness and his eyes met with Mizuki's sparkling azure pools. "Practice is over." she said cheerily, "Ikuto said that we would be closing practice early so that I can go and see mama sooner."

The young man looked from Mizuki to where Ikuto was standing with his back to them. "I see..." he said lightly as he rose from the chair and stretched a little bit, "Well, that was very considerate of him." He was staring at the back of Ikuto's head the whole time before he smiled down at the young girl and gestured for her to follow along. "We should hurry up and make use of the time he gave us! I'm sure your mother will be delighted to see you."

Mizuki nodded before she hurried out ahead of him and just when he was about to leave along with her, he paused when he heard Ikuto begin to speak. "... Watch over her." he said just barely loud enough for Nagihiko to pick up, "Though she acts tough, she really can be really fragile."

Nagihiko looked over his shoulder and nodded slowly, "I was planning on it."

With that, he left the building just as Mizuki was about to go back in to see what was taking him so long. "Mama will be proud! Ikuto said that I have most the notes pretty much down! He said that soon we will be able to start learning how to play songs from paper!" And she went on talking about how excited she was like that until they came up to the apartment. After digging around in his pocket a little, searching for his key, Nagi unlocked the door and watched as Mizuki ran in without another word and headed directly to the room that she shared with her mother after taking off her shoes.

Nagi was close behind the child after he too removed his shoes.

When they got to the room, he found that Amu was conscious and sitting up in bed.

"... and so he decided to let the lesson end early." he heard as he walked in, "Why are you sick mommy?" she asked with a frown on her lips as she climbed up onto the bed, laying down beside Amu and curling up at her side.

With a soft smile, Amu gently started to run her fingers through her daughters silken, dark blue hair. "Mommy is just not used to working is all sweet heart." she said soothingly, "I'll be fine by tomorrow I'm sure. I will probably have to miss a day of work, though I will be able to take you to and from school tomorrow."

Snuggling up to Amu, Mizuki smiled. "Okay." she said, not really capable of understanding much about illness in general with her young age. Nagihiko however, was not convinced.

Taking a step forward, he waited until Amu's gaze fell upon him and he forced a smile. "Should I run a bath and make something for the two of you to eat?" he paused for a moment before adding, "Don't tell me that you can do it yourself Amu, you need your rest and I have no intention of going home until you look healthier.

Closing her mouth, Amu sighed before she nodded. "Yeah... alright. Thanks for taking care of us, Nagi. You are such a wonderful friend to me." she then seemed to think about something, "There should be canned chicken noodle soup in the cupboard from a little while back."

"Alright, I'll first start the bath then I'll get right on making you guys something to eat." Nagi turned and left the room. The moment his back was to her, his smile slid off his face and a look of sorrow made its way to his expression.

Just how much longer would he be able to handle being called 'friend'? When would he end up getting the courage to tell her how he _really_ felt? Would it ever happen? Could she return his feelings? He was so worried about what might happen if she didn't. Though... he wasn't sure if he could put his heart through much more.

When she got better.

That was when he would make his move.

He couldn't put it off any longer. After being in love with her ever since they were young... it was about time that he acted on what his heart was trying to tell him all this time.

Now that he knew Tsukiyomi Ikuto was back... he really needed to hurry up and do something before the violinist managed to sweep Amu up off of her feet. He wasn't good enough for her.

Then again... was Nagihiko?

He supposed that there was no way to know. The only person who could possibly have a good idea as to who would be good for Amu, is none other than Hinamori Amu herself.

This was something that Nagihiko had to understand.

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Thanks to all who read this! Remember, any and all reviews are highly appreciated


	7. Chapter 7

A lot has been happening for me, so I'm sorry for taking so long with the updates guys. I had an Orchestra concert that I needed to prepare for (I had a solo!) so that took up a lot of time. I also am quite ill at the moment, so it can be difficult to stare at the screen for long periods of time. Though it seemed to be a little bit easier to do today, so thats good!

Thank you everyone for the reviews, it is you who truly motivate me to keep going when I feel like I'm not writing that well. Its good to know it is enjoyed.

**Please R&R! **I love you all!

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As the days progressed, Amu started to become unsure as to what she should do with herself. It had taken a little over a week before she was well enough to return to work. Then another week had to pass before she started to feel like herself again. Everyone at the cafe had been quite concerned for her well-being, so when she returned all of a sudden, it was quite a scene. Though she had only been working there for a week, everyone had already come to enjoy Amu's presence.

Rima eventually had to make sure everyone was getting ready to open up the cafe after everyone finished their questions. Though she too was glad to see that the pinkette had returned to them.

Now, she was getting ready to finish up her shift when she saw someone very familiar walk into the small cafe. When his eyes landed on her he offered a smile as he gestured for her to walk over to him.

Amu nodded and started to walk to the front. When she got close enough she raised an eyebrow and started to speak, "Do you need something Nagi?" she asked as she came to a stop a few feet from him. "I'm just about to punch out."

Nagihiko's cheeks were slightly flushed as he spoke, "Ah, well, I actually have something I'd like to talk to you about." he admitted sheepishly, "Would you mind going out to eat with me while Mizuki is taking her violin lessons?" Little did Amu know, a certain blonde haired young woman was paying close attention to them from not far away.

"Oh, sure thing. Where would you like to meet up?" she asked with a slight head tilt and Nagihiko's smile brightened a little with her response for some reason.

"How about I meet you at the violin lessons? I will get there a little after three." without another word, he waved goodbye and left the building, leaving Amu feeling a little bit confused. Why did he seem so... flustered?

"Geez, that guy shouldn't stop by if he isn't interested in buying anything." The slightly bitter tone to Rima's voice surprised Amu who spun around instantly. "Super annoying."

This made Amu giggle a bit before she shook her head, "I honestly don't know what could possibly be going through that guys head half the time. He certainly is a character." Rima watched Amu's face closely as the pink haired girl was now looking back towards where Nagihiko had disappeared to with a small smile on her lips, "Though he certainly means well." When she returned her gaze to the blonde girl, Rima had quickly looked away. "I think that you should try giving him a chance, Nagi really isn't a bad person. I don't understand why you are always so cold towards him."

Shrugging, Rima turned and waved her hand in dismissal. "No way is that ever going to happen. You can go ahead and punch out now."

Amu didn't have to be told twice. She quickly changed out of her uniform and was out of the cafe within five minutes. She had worked a little bit longer than usual so she didn't have the time like she usually did to make her way to Mizuki's school at her leisurely pace.

The bell rang just as she ran up to the school yard and was almost immediately greeted by her child.

"Are we going straight to lessons again mama?" Mizuki asked as they started to walk off. Amu nodded as she handed the violin case to her daughter.

"Yep, I think its easier for us this way. Now we don't have to hurry to your lessons after going home for your violin." Amu had decided they would make better time if she ended up taking Mizuki's violin with her to work. So far it seemed to be a good plan.

Once they got to the little studio, Amu was surprised when she heard the sound of a violin coming from the inside and Mizuki's eyes widened. "He's playing!" She whispered loudly before she ran into the building, Amu following close behind her.

When they entered the room, Amu froze as she watched with awe. Mizuki giggled and bounced up and down a little, obviously excited to see her teacher playing a song that seemed so complicated to her young mind.

It was the song that Amu last heard him play before he left.

He had written it as a sort of 'farewell' for Amu. She remembered how she would constantly play the song over and over in her head.

Until she found out she was pregnant anyways.

Suddenly the song cut off and Ikuto turned a little to look at the two by the corner of his eye. A silent connection was there for but a moment between Amu and Ikuto before golden eyes broke free from the captivating cobalt gaze as Amu looked away.

"That sounded awesome!" Mizuki exclaimed as she ran over to Ikuto, "Can you teach me that song when I get better?" she asked with a grin on her lips.

Though before anyone could speak, the door behind Amu opened and she turned to see Nagihiko walk in. "Oh! You're here already! I thought I had gotten here a little early..." he checked his watch and Amu looked over to Mizuki.

"Have a good time sweetie, mommy is going to go somewhere with Nagi for a little while. I'll be back as soon as I can!" she waved a little before she turned with the long haired male, leaving behind a silent Ikuto and a still rather excited Mizuki.

"Alright... so where is it that you would like us to go?" Amu asked curiously with a small smile as they walked down the steps, "Did you have something in mind?"

Scratching the back of his head, Nagihiko nodded sheepishly. "Well... yeah, I hope you don't mind. Its quite a nice place. I made sure to check it out before deciding on bringing you there. Its actually not all that far from here, so you don't really need to worry about being late in picking Mizuki up from lessons."

It sounded like he had put a lot of time in thinking about this. For some reason it made Amu feel a little bit uneasy about it. What could possibly be so important that he wanted to talk about? She had a feeling that she knew... though she didn't really know what to believe at this point. She didn't WANT to think one thing only for it to be completely wrong.

"You like Italian food... right?"

"Ah- yes. Italian food is great." Amu said with a bit of a forced smile, starting to feel nervous about whatever it is he'd like o talk about.

"Great! I thought you did." He grinned and Amu exhaled slowly, trying to calm herself as they made their way to this restaurant.

~+Ikuto's POV+~

"Do you like my mommy?"

Mizuki's sudden question almost made Ikuto jump from where he had been staring out the window, watching Amu and Nagihiko walk away. He spun on his heel to look at the young girl and he scoffed lightly as he closed his eyes.

"I do not." His feelings for Hinamori Amu were much stronger. He _loved_ her. Despite the fact that she rarely even looked at him, despite the fact that she seemed so bitter... he couldn't help but feel this way about her.

Sounds of sniffling brought him to the present and he looked down to see that Mizuki was crying. "Why not?" she whimpered, "Mommy always does her best to make sure that I'm happy... why don't you like her? She always looks so sad when she drops me off here. Did you hurt my mama? Why would you do such a thing?" Ikuto winced as she started to sob and he looked round frantically to try and distract her, somehow.

He hated tears. He hated the sound of crying more than anything.

"H-hey! Calm down! Its nothing for you to be upset about! I haven't hurt your mother." At least... he didn't _think_ he did anyway. Though... Amu certainly wouldn't be angry or upset with him for no reason. Maybe... he _did_ do something wrong?

He didn't know anymore.

All he knew was that right now, Amu was walking around with some guy who had plans to steal her away from him. Something needed to be done about that and FAST.

"Ah, how about we go and get some ice cream? We can continue with your lessons tomorrow."

At the mention of ice cream, Mizuki's sniffles almost immediately died down and she peered up at Ikuto with big, blue eyes. "R-really?" she asked as she wiped away some stray tears.

Ikuto sighed lightly before he nodded, "Yeah, I know a place that is open year round. Lets go." considering the fact that it was starting to get colder and colder as the days progressed, a year-round ice cream place would be necessary.

Mizuki nodded, now with a smile on her face as she ran over to where her jacket was sitting on a chair and she quickly put it back on. "How many scoops can I have?" she asked with a giggle as they headed out. Ikuto locked the door to the studio before they continued on their way.

"However many that you want, I suppose," surely the little girl couldn't eat all _that_ much. She was so tiny. "No more than four though kid, I'd hate for your mother to call me irresponsible." That certainly wouldn't be good. Definitely not a good way to go about getting back on her good side, that much was for sure.

"Yay!" Mizuki exclaimed happily as she started to skip along, singing about ice cream cutely. It was impossible for Ikuto _not_ to smile. One thing was for sure, this girl definitely had inherited her mothers 'cuteness'.

Just _who was the father_? This question has been going through his head almost constantly since the moment that he first discovered that she had a daughter. Obviously he wasn't in the picture.

There were so many questions that he had but couldn't ask. He knew that Amu would hate him for bringing up something that was obviously such a touchy subject. Amu nor Mizuki brought the man up ever.

Had Mizuki even met him?

Walking into the ice cream place, his thoughts were centered around these things.

Mizuki ran up to the counter and stood on her tiptoes so that she could see what was on display. "Do you have chocolate?" she asked when she finally gave up and looked towards the woman who was working behind the counter.

The woman just giggled softly and nodded, "Of course we do! Is that what you would like sweet heart?" Mizuki nodded her head quickly, "Alright, how many scoops dear?"

"Four!" Mizuki exclaimed holding that number of fingers out for the woman to see.

"Is that alright with daddy?" the woman looked up to where Ikuto was standing with his hands in his pockets and he blinked when he realized that she was referring to him.

"I'm not the father." he said, instantly correcting her. "But yeah, four is alright."

The woman's face turned crimson, "Oh! I'm sorry! The two of you look so alike- I could have sworn..." she trailed off before she shook her head, "Four scoops it is, would you like something as well?" she asked Ikuto.

With a slight shake of his head he looked to Mizuki, "I don't think she will be finishing it, I can eat whatever she doesn't. Chocolate is my favorite ice cream as well."

Looking up Mizuki puffed out her chest, "I'll be able to finish it!"

Of course though, that wasn't the case.

Sitting at one of the tables in the store, Mizuki was pushing over half the ice cream towards Ikuto who laughed. "What did I tell you? It was too much. They weren't small scoops."

Mizuki just pouted as Ikuto took up the bowl and looked out the window, picking up the spoon he had asked from the woman after she finished putting the ice cream in the bowl for them.

After a few seconds the girl returned to normal as she looked back to Ikuto, "thank you for the ice cream! Now what are we gonna do? Mama is with Nagi right now..." she trailed off with a concerned look on her face, genuinely trying to think of what they would do to pass the time as they waited for Amu to return.

The mention of the fact that Amu was on a date with Nagihiko made Ikuto wince a little and he just took a bite of ice cream, not sure what to respond to the girl before he sighed. "I suppose we can just walk around and see what there is to do. Its been a while since I've done that anyway."

Mizuki seemed to like that idea. So when he finished up the ice cream, they thanked the woman once more before leaving the store. "Alright... pick a direction to go and we'll go that way." Ikuto said after a moment of trying to decide which way to go.

The little girl seemed to think about it for a moment before she turned to her left and pointed, "Lets go this way!" she said as she started to walk. Ikuto walked along, following the little girl who almost seemed to have a look of determination on her face.

He remembered how the lady in the ice cream shop had mistaken him as her father. The thought was a bit ironic... considering the fact that the mother couldn't so much as look at him. Though for some reason... he had felt a sense of pride when she had said that.

Such a nice little girl could be mistaken as his daughter?

He supposed that would explain some of the looks and giggles that they would receive from young woman that they passed on the street. Now that he was thinking about it, quite a few girls were taking notice in both him and Mizuki.

Interesting.

"I know of a really fun place that mommy takes me to sometimes." Mizuki was saying as she looked up at Ikuto, "I'm just... not sure if I can remember exactly where it was."

They continued walking around for what had to have been at least thirty minutes when Ikuto was finally going to suggest that they returned to the studio. However, it didn't appear that he needed to.

"Here it is- mommy?"

Ikuto looked up from where he had been staring at the ground and his eyes widened a little when he realized where exactly they were.

They were standing where that old amusement park used to be all those years ago. The amusement part that he had taken Amu to the first time that he showed his interest in her. It was really the first time they ever did anything together.

It looked like they had finally torn it down though.

Now it was a playground.

"Mama! Aren't you cold? What are you doing?" Mizuki's questions fired off almost immediately as she ran to where her mother was sitting on a swing, her head was tilted down a little so that a shadow was cast over her eyes.

When she looked up, there was a smile on her lips. Though her eyes looked sorrowful. "Oh... Mizuki, I was just about to go and get you from your lessons. We should go home now..." she trailed off as she stood up from where she was sitting.

Ikuto was making his way over when he saw Amu stumble and start to fall. He hurried over to her and barely managed to catch her before she ended up eating dirt.

Mizuki yelped and Ikuto's eyebrows knitted together. Hadn't she just gotten over an illness? Why was she wearing such a light jacket in this cold? "Are you _aiming_ to get sick?" he demanded as he shrugged off his jacket, still holding Amu up. Wrapping her in his jacket, he lifted her up into his arms bridal style and looked down at Mizuki who looked panicked.

"Lets take your mommy to the doctors." he said, concern this time making its way to his tone.

What was going on with Amu?

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Father daughter bonding time? I think yes! Until something happens! Uh ohhhhh what will happen next?

Hope you all enjoyed this chapter! I know I enjoyed writing it ^-^

-Syel


	8. Chapter 8

Another chapter that I really enjoyed writing, and this is officially my most successful fanfiction! The most views and reviews. Also the first one I've managed to keep writing for! Yay hehe

**Please R&R!**

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"Is mommy going to be okay?" Mizuki asked quietly, "She's gonna get better, right?" Ikuto looked up from his hands so that he could look at Mizuki and he offered a little bit of a smile as he nodded.

"Yes... mommy is going to be just fine. She has you to take care of, doesn't she? So of course she is going to be okay. The doctors just need to be alone with her for a little while so that they can find out what is happening inside her body." Ikuto never thought that he would be so... careful with a kid. Usually he was pretty blunt about things. He just couldn't bring himself to be that way with little Mizuki.

They had been sitting in the waiting room for a little over an hour now since some nurses took Amu away from him. He hadn't wanted to let go. He remember holding fast to the young woman in his arms before giving up and allowing the nurses to take her.

What had happened between her and Nagihiko? Why the hell would the guy leave her in the cold? Is that what happened? He supposed there was no way to know until Amu woke up herself.

"Ah, Hinamori Amu?"

Ikuto jumped up, Mizuki moved almost as quickly as him as she grabbed Ikuto's shirt and held on while he walked over to where the doctor was standing with a clipboard. "Yes, I'm the one who brought her here." Ikuto said impatiently, "Is she alright? Can we go and see her?"

The doctor hesitated before he looked from him to Mizuki, "Are you the father? I'm afraid I can only let family visit at the moment." Now it was Ikuto's turn to hesitate. Though before he could, Mizuki took his hand in hers and looked up at the doctor.

"He's my papa." she said bravely, "Now lets go see my mama." The doctors eyes widened at this before he nodded.

"Uh, yeah. Just follow me." The older man turned and started walking.

Ikuto was still shocked by what Mizuki had said. Did the girl truly understand the situation enough to lie like that? He certainly needed to give the kid more credit. For a five year old she seemed so many years past her age sometimes.

"We've done a few tests..." the doctor started, "We wont be sure what is wrong with Hinamori Amu until some time tomorrow, I think it would be best that we kept her over night." Ikuto of course had no issue with that... what he was worried about was Mizuki. If Amu really was the only one looking after her... who would get her to school in the morning? Who would make her lunch?

"If that's what you think is for the best." Ikuto said lightly as the stopped so that the doctor could open a door, room number 113. Ikuto made a mental note of the number before he and Mizuki walked in.

Amu had a few different tubes connected to her and a breathing tube set up. She was still unconscious.

"Mama..." Mizuki whispered as she walked over to the bed.

"I'm afraid you can't stay long, visiting hours run until eight o'clock. It is seven thirty right now. I just thought I should let you guys get a little bit of time with her before we had to send you out. I wont be far from here." With that he bowed and left Mizuki and Ikuto alone with Amu.

Ikuto walked over and pulled a chair over beside the one that Mizuki was sitting in. "Mizuki... you know, lying isn't a very good thing to do." Ikuto said after a few moments of silence.

At first, the child didn't respond to him. She was staring at her mothers face with furrowed eyebrows. Though soon enough, she turned to look at Ikuto. "Something told me that I should say that... otherwise they wouldn't have let you come in." she said softly, "I'm sure mama would want you to be here too."

Was that true? He had a feeling that the little girl was a little bit off with that, though he wouldn't tell her this. He was fairly sure he was one of the last people she would like to see in her hospital room. One of the last people she would want to see whenever she woke up.

"Look... Mizuki, we need to figure out what we are going to do tomorrow. I think whats going to inevitably happen is I'm going to wind up going home with you and taking you to school tomorrow... is there anything your mother does in the morning for you?"

Nodding her head Mizuki didn't have to think about it, "Mama always makes me a bento that's ready to go before I wake up. School starts at eight in the morning."

Running a hand back through his hair, Ikuto shook his head. This was definitely going to be a learning experience for the young man. He suppose he didn't really _need_ to take it upon himself to do something for the little girl. Though he certainly couldn't just leave her on her own. That would be awful on so many different levels.

Not to mention he kind of wanted to be there for her.

It was a strange feeling.

"Alright... So I should get up at... seven thirty? I should probably get a note from the doctor stating that Amu is in the hospital so that I can give it to her boss..." He was thinking deeply about this now. Mizuki was watching him closely before she turned her attention back to her mother.

"I hope she is better soon..." Mizuki stated softly and Ikuto sighed as he lightly patted the girl on the head.

"The doctors will do everything that they can for your mother. That much I know for a fact. You shouldn't worry about the things that you can not control. Your mother wouldn't like for you to worry I'm sure."

Mizuki bit her lip and nodded, he knew that she probably understood what he was saying.

Five minutes later, the doctor returned. "Alright, I'm sorry, but you guys need to leave now."

Ikuto nodded and stood up, "Hey, do you think you could write a note stating that she is in the hospital right now? So that I can give it to her boss?" He asked as he walked over to where the doctor stood.

Mizuki patted her mothers hand three times before turning and walking after Ikuto who was handed a small piece of paper.

"She is in good hands sir, I assure you."

Ikuto just waved a little before he and Mizuki left the room.

"Uh... you know how to get to your house... right?" Ikuto asked when he realized that he had no idea as to where they lived.

The little girl put a finger to her chin as they walked through the hospital, towards the exit. "Ah... well... I know how to get home from the studio." she said with a giggle. "From a few other places too! But, I've never been here before. I don't know where we are right now."

Face palming a little, Ikuto sighed before he shook his head. "Alright, I guess we will just have to go back to the studio. It shouldn't be too far from here, I don't think."

Of course, he was wrong. The two wound up walking for quite a ways before Mizuki started to complain about how her feet were hurting and he ended up picking her up and carrying her on his shoulders. "I guess today has been a long day for you." he said lightly. They have been doing a lot of walking so he was actually surprised that she hadn't asked him to carry her some time ago.

Once they got to the studio, Mizuki started to give directions.

It took them a little while before they actually got to the apartment complex.

That was when he realized something else that could be a damper on this plan.

"I don't have a key to get in." he stated as he stared at the door in front of them.

Mizuki pointed down, "Mama puts a spare key under the welcome mat in case she forgets hers." Mizuki started matter-of-factly and Ikuto chuckled before he took a step back and crouched down so that he could look under the said mat and found that the little girl was right about there being a key there. He sighed in relief before he picked it up and stood back up.

It was strange, unlocking the door that Amu surly had locked and unlocked many times before this moment.

Opening the door, Mizuki asked to be put down and when her feet touched the ground she ran over to the fridge, "Mama made sashimi yesterday." she said as she looked through the fridge, "We can eat that and then I need to take a bath and go to bed." Ikuto blinked when he realized that the little girl was pretty much telling him how he was supposed to take care of her.

Her baby sitters must really have it easy. It seemed like the girl could manage taking care of herself without the help of anyone else.

Amu sure did a fantastic job with raising this kid... she was an incredible person.

"Okay, how about I get the dinner set up and you go ahead and run the bath?" Mizuki nodded before she hurried off leaving Ikuto to figure out what to do with the left overs.

He pulled out a couple of plastic containers and grabbed the soi sauce from the fridge door and took it over to the table. He then looked through a couple cupboards, looking for some plates that they could use.

When Mizuki returned, she looked up at Ikuto with curiosity shining in her eyes.

"You _do_ like mommy." Mizuki stated with a slight head tilt and Ikuto winced a little, "I can tell. If you didn't, you wouldn't have cared so much when she went to sleep."

Ikuto sighed a little before he shook his head and brought two plates over to the table, "How about we don't talk about this, okay?" he asked lightly as he started to put food onto each plate.

Mizuki sat down at one of the chairs and continued to watch Ikuto's movements, "Okay..." she trailed off as he pushed a plate in front of her. "Thank you for the food." she said softly before she took her fork and started to eat.

Ikuto sighed softly as he watched the little girl for a moment before he also started to eat.

Knowing the fact that Amu had prepared this meal the day before was also a little strange. He couldn't remember the last time that he had eaten something that she had made. All he knew was that she certainly was good at it now. The food tasted delicious even though it was a day or so old by now.

He wondered what it would be like to eat something she made fresh out of the oven.

As they ate, Ikuto started to think about what had happened that day.

He would need to call his other students and let them know that lessons would be canceled until further notice. He doubted he would be able to juggle taking care of Mizuki _and _work at the same time. God knows how long Amu would be in the hospital for, it didn't look like she would be waking up any time soon.

A week? A month? Surly it couldn't be much longer than that. If it was... what would he do? He would _have_ to continue with the lessons, he was sure Mizuki wouldn't mind hanging around the studio longer than what she was used to. Especially considering the fact that she didn't really have too much of a choice.

Maybe he should have a talk with this Nagihiko character while Mizuki was in school... that would probably be the only good way of trying to go about figuring out what could have happened.

He kind of wanted to beat the crap out of the guy for letting Amu wander about in the cold by herself. It was nearing the end of fall and he was sure snow would start falling before too much longer.

"I'm going to go and take my bath now." Mizuki said as she stood up from where she had been sitting, "Then I'll go to bed, I'm sleepy." she said with a yawn and Ikuto nodded.

"Be sure not to fall asleep while in the bath." he called and said that she wouldn't before she turned the corner.

Before much longer, Ikuto also finished his meal. Collecting the dishes, he brought them over to the sink where he started to wash them.

This was the first time that he has really had to care for someone other than himself.

It was going to be interesting.

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Okay guys, I'm trying to figure out what kind of illness to give Amu. This should be interesting xD

I hope you all enjoyed this chapter ^-^

-Syel


	9. Chapter 9

Wow. This took me forever xD I finished my exams yesterday though, and today is my first day of summer! It should be a LOT easier for me to work on the chapters for this story now! I'm excited to get back in the swing of things!

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"Have a good day kid, I'll be here to pick you up later." Ikuto said lightly as he took a glance at the time using his cell phone. He wasn't sure what time Sanae's opened, though he was pretty sure they were open pretty early in the day. When he looked back up, he saw Mizuki peering up at him with a slight head tilt and Ikuto raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Aren't you going to go see mommy while I'm in school?" she asked curiously and Ikuto sighed before he nodded his head, confirming the girls suspicions. With that answer, Mizuki grinned. "You should bring her flowers, mama loves flowers." And with that, the five year old turned and skipped off towards the building leaving a slightly surprised Ikuto in the dust.

Flowers huh? He supposed it couldn't hurt. Besides, he had no idea what could be wrong with her. For all he knew she may have to end up staying at the hospital for a while longer, a vase of flowers surely would make the room feel more like home, right?

He couldn't believe how much he actually cared.

The young man ran a hand back through his sapphire locks as he started to walk towards Sanae's. He was holding the doctors note in his hand as though it were some form of life-line. He wasn't sure how he felt about going in there. He knew that Amu was friends with those people... had she said anything about him? He knew it wasn't uncommon for girls to talk about things that upset them.

Surely he was one of those things for Amu. There was not a doubt in his mind that this was the case.

Of course, he usually wouldn't care about what others thought about him. Though since these were Amu's friends... that kind of changed things up a little bit.

It didn't take too long for him to get to the cafe. It looked as though it was just opening since He saw a familiar young blonde flipping the sign over so that it read 'open' rather than 'closed'. When she spotted him, she froze for a moment before she turned and started to make her way towards the back of the cafe.

When he realized this, Ikuto quickly hurried to the door and walked in. "Wait!" he said loud enough for the girl to stop in her tracks. He waited for her to turn around, though when she didn't Ikuto cleared his throat. "I have a note from a doctor... Amu might not be coming in for work for a little while." The moment he mentioned Amu, the female spun on her heel and started to walk towards him.

"What did you do?" she demanded stopping when only an inch of air separated them, she glared up at him. "What is the matter with Amu?"

Ikuto was somewhat surprised when the girl automatically assumed that whatever was wrong with Amu was his fault. Now that he thought about it though, didn't she look somewhat familiar? "Wha- I didn't do anything to her. I just happened to be there when she passed out. I took her to the hospital and had the doctor write a doctors note so that you guys would know whats up." he then frowned, "I shouldn't be explaining this to _you _where is the boss of this joint?"

The girl took a step back before she folded her arms, "That would be me right now. My boss doesn't get here until noon-ish. I'm second in command you could say." she held out her tiny hand, "I can deliver the note when he gets here."

Ikuto sighed before he nodded and handed the note to her. The girl gave it a once over before she put it in her pocket and turned, "Alright, you can go now."

Ikuto watched her disappear through a set of doors before he turned and left.

Wasn't she just a ray of sunshine? He wondered for a moment why she looked so damn familiar before he decided on shaking the thought off. He was sure it didn't really matter. It was a small town. There was a chance he had just passed her on the street before.

Soon, all thoughts died out and Ikuto concentrated on getting to the hospital. He knew that it was possible the doctors didn't know what was wrong just yet, though he couldn't help but feel hopeful. Since Mizuki's father wasn't in the picture, he knew that if Amu didn't return soon things could begin to get difficult for Mizuki.

The hospital was a place that Ikuto had never really thought of all that often. He had only been there a few times in his entire life. Most of those times was when he would go to visit his mother while she was too ill to stay home. Since then, he never really had a need to go before. It was somewhat irking to know that now he had to go because something was wrong with Amu.

That girl was always giving him some form of trouble. Though... for some reason he didn't feel too bothered by that fact. Ikuto remembered how he always felt somewhat responsible for Amu. How he always wanted to keep her safe from any form of danger.

"Sir? Do you need something?"

The sudden question nearly made Ikuto jump when he realized that he was at the front counter in the hospital. He didn't realize how deep in thought that he had been.

"Ah- yes. I'm here to check on Hinamori Amu in room 113. I was also hoping that I could speak with her doctor, is he in currently?" The young woman was looking through a clip board before she nodded slowly.

"The doctor should be in shortly, you may go ahead and go to the room. I will send the doctor to you as soon as he arrives." Ikuto thanked the receptionist before he made his way to the room that he had been in the day before.

What would he say if she was awake? What would he do if she wasn't? Ikuto highly disliked the situation that he was in.

He was familiar with the idea that currently, Amu didn't show any form of affection towards him at all. If she was awake... would she even want to see him? He was sure that she would much prefer seeing her little girl over him.

At this point, there wasn't really anything that he could do about that other than wait.

Once he got to the correct room, he was a little surprised to see that the door was slightly ajar and the moment he heard voices on the other side, he frowned and entered.

"Ma'am, please! You must stay still."

"You don't understand! I have a daughter that needs looking after!"

Ikuto winced and he walked around the corner and took in the scene.

There were two young nurses there. One was holding Amu down while the other one seemed to be trying to calm her.

The first who took notice in Ikuto's presence was Amu, almost instantly her struggles ceased and the nurse who was holding her down sighed in relief. "Oh thank goodness. Mr. Hinamori, please tell your wife that she needs to remain calm while the drugs work their way through her system." Hinamori was staring at Ikuto with what appeared to be confused wonder and before she could correct the nurses he cleared his throat and took a step forward.

"Yes. I will do just that." he stopped at the foot of Amu's bed, "Would you two lovely ladies please give me and my wife a bit of privacy for now? I would like to explain what I can to her."

The two left without another word.

"Mr. Hinamori? Wife? What the hell is going on Ikuto?" Amu demanded as she stared up at him from her position on the bed.

Another sigh left his lips as Ikuto sat down in the chair that was closest and he began to rub his temples. "When I brought you in there was a little bit of a misunderstanding, everyone here believes that I am your husband and Mizuki, my daughter. Its no big deal, once you get out of here you can go back to ignoring me."

Amu looked away and her fists clenched visibly at her sides, Ikuto decided to continue speaking. "Do you remember how Mizuki and I found you yesterday?" when he got no reply he sighed before carrying on, "You were in a park by yourself. I was confused since I was under the impression that you were with that Nagi character. When you stood up you passed out almost immediately afterward. After I dropped you off here I took it upon myself to take care of Mizuki. Right now she is in school."

That seemed to draw the pinkettes attention, her golden eyes slowly found their way to Ikuto's blue ones and she remained silent only for a few seconds. "... thank you. I am very grateful to you for taking care of Mizuki..." she trailed off and Ikuto had a feeling that she was going to say something else. Though just as she opened her mouth, he heard the door open and she looked away when the doctor walked in.

"Ah, I see that you are feeling well enough to struggle with a couple of my nurses, that is a great sign." The older man chuckled before he looked at Ikuto, "There is nothing physically wrong with your wife, Mr. Hinamori. In fact, what IS wrong with her should not be permanent and is typically quite easy to cure. She is just really stressed."

This was a little surprising for Ikuto.

"When someone is stressed, it is not uncommon for their immune system to drop tremendously. What I recommend as your doctor is that you take a few days off from work and focus on doing things to relax a little bit. Leave the cooking and cleaning to your husband for a little while. I also suggest that you talk about things that bother you. That way something like this doesn't have to happen again. If you would like, you can leave as soon as the medication wears off. It should only be a litle while before that happens." He was writing something down on his notebook and tore the sheet of paper out, handing it to Amu. "Give this to your boss. A week should be good."

Amu only looked up at him, speechless and the doctor offered a smile before he turned. "One of the nurses will come in and let you know when you may leave, I hope that the two of you remain happy and healthy!" Just like that, the doctor was gone.

"You know I-" Ikuto started after a few minutes.

"You don't have to Ikuto." Amu stated simply. "I've been doing fine this long, with some rest I will be fine. Cooking and cleaning wont make much of a difference with the stress. I will just try and get in a little more sleep."

With a little bit of a scoff Ikuto shook his head, "I don't think so." he said as he stood up and walked towards the window, looking out of it. "The doctor told us what would be best, it would be foolish to not listen to him. It just looks like you will have to deal with me for a little while." when he turned a little to face Amu, she blinked in surprise.

Ikuto was smiling at her.

Amu bit her lip and nodded, "If you get sick of it... just say so. You don't have to stay just because the doctor said so."

"Sure thing." Ikuto said simply. "Though I highly doubt that will happen, Mizuki I'm sure will do what she can to help out. She is a very sweet girl."

"About that..." Amu trailed off a little. Her tone instantly drew Ikuto's attention. "Mizuki... her father..." she hesitated before she shook her head and looked away, "Never mind."

Just what was she going to say? Ikuto was very curious. He supposed though, that with time... Ikuto would learn the story of Mizuki's father.

What he didn't know, was that it would happen a lot sooner than he thought.

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AH I'm so excited! We are getting closer and closer to revealing the secret to Ikuto! I hope that this chapter was enjoyable for you guys! Please review!


	10. Chapter 10

Sooooo its been awhile... again xD

I will answer a question by one of my reviewers!

Candii: Are Rima and Nagi gonna end up together?

My answer: I'm not really sure honestly! I've been thinking about it a little and I think we will just have to see how things play out! c: Thanks for such a lovely review, it made my day c:

I hope that this chapter makes up for the wait guys! *fingers crossed* Enjoy my lovely reviewers/followers~ I Really appreciate all of you ^-^

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"Mama, is Ikuto going to live with us forever?" Mizuki asked with her head tilted to the side as she watched her mother lay out the futon in the guest room. "Is he going to be Mizuki's new father?"

This question instantly drew Amu's attention and the young woman quickly turned her gaze onto her daughter, "Why would you ask something like that sweetie?" She knew that it wasn't really anything to get her nerves all up in a bunch for, though just thinking about how close to home Mizuki was with that question... it really threw Amu through a loop.

Mizuki shrugged, "Well, he's staying here so that he can take care of you while you're sick." she smiled widely, "Isn't that what daddies do for mommies?" the childishness to her daughters tone almost brought tears to Amu's eyes and she immediately stopped what she was doing and drew Mizuki into her arms.

"Oh sweet heart..." Amu whispered before she pulled away and peered into the young girls face as she brushed a strand of dark blue hair from her face. After she searched her daughters eyes for a few moments, Amu smiled, "How would you like to help mommy finish setting this futon up?" she asked with a forced smile.

The young girl instantly jumped up with a bright grin on her face as she nodded excitedly, "I'd love to mama!" with that, the two finished getting the guest room ready for Ikuto's stay and when Amu finished she looked down at Mizuki who had quickly forgotten about the question she had asked her mother, and was now simply excited about having her violin teacher staying with them for the week.

"Oh, you didn't have to set all of this up for me." the sudden statement surprised Amu and Mizuki spun on her heel. Ikuto was standing there with a duffel bag in hand and a raised eyebrow. "I could have done it when I got here, the doctor said-."

"Take it easy. I know. I was there too ya know." she folded her arms, "Rolling out a futon and picking up a few things doesn't take too much work. Besides, Mizuki helped me out." She patted the little girls head and she was smiling at Ikuto.

"Mama said that you'd be staying with us for a whole week!" she exclaimed happily, obviously excited. Ikuto chuckled as he walked into the room, dropping the duffel bag next to the futon as he knelt down so that he could look at Mizuki a little easier.

"That's right, your mother isn't feeling well and needs my help so that we can see to it that you're taken care of." he said with a smile, "Though I'll be needing your help in making sure that your mother is taken care of as well... can you help me out?"

Mizuki nodded with a wide grin and as the two spoke with one another, Amu felt uncomfortable. She really _had_ to tell him. It was obvious that he cared about Mizuki, and even _more_ obvious that Mizuki really liked Ikuto. If she withheld this information much longer... it simply wouldn't be fair to either of them. Ikuto definitely needed to know. There was no question about that.

"Amu, are you feeling alright?" The pink haired young woman jumped in surprise at the question and she nodded quickly, instantly realizing that she must have gotten lost in her thoughts.

"Oh- yes." she said lightly as she waved her hands to dismiss the guys concerns, "I'm fine, I was just thinking."

Ikuto frowned before he looked down at Mizuki, "How about you go and play with your toys? I'm going to have a little chat with your mother." he said and Mizuki nodded before heading out of the room. "You know... the doctor _also_ said that you should talk about whats bothering you." He was a lot more serious now that Mizuki wasn't in the room.

Amu looked away, suddenly feeling angry. She shook her head and tears popped into her eyes. When she looked at Ikuto he took a step back in surprise, not expecting this reaction at all.

"How...?" Amu started, her eyes lowered to the ground, "How could you not notice?" she murmured.

Ikuto leaned forward so that he could try and hear her a little better, "Notice...? Notice what?"

Amu's head jerked up and she was glaring at him now, "How could you not see yourself in your own daughter?" she demanded, her voice breaking. Ikuto's eyes went wide and he took another step back, "she looks _just_ like you!" She then covered her face with her hands and her little body started to tremble with the sobs that wracked her body, unable to speak anymore.

Ikuto didn't even know what to think, much less say as the woman before him sobbed. He subconsciously took another step forward and before he knew it, his hands were on hers and he removed them from her face, holding them in his own, "Amu... what are you saying?" he asked as gently as he possibly could, not wanting to make her feel worse than she already felt.

He waited for her to calm down enough and soon her sobs had subsided to sniffles and she peered up at him with before she looked away, "I'm saying..." she said as she took in a shaky breath, trying not to break down again, "That Mizuki is your daughter." she couldn't meet his gaze again, she felt horrible. She couldn't even imagine what thoughts were running through the guys head after this confession.

Ikuto chuckled.

With a frown, Amu looked up to see that Ikuto had a raised eyebrow, "Amu, that's not possible. We've never had sex before."

Amu had known that it would be impossible to convince this guy. Now she remembered why she hadn't wanted to tell him about this. To him, it wasn't even a possibility because there was no way he would remember that night.

Shaking her head, a bittersweet smile touched Amu's lips, "I knew you'd say that." she said as she started to turn away though was surprised when Ikuto's grip tightened.

"Amu... you were just kidding around, right?" she could hear the concern in his tone and Amu scoffed.

"Of course I'm not kidding. You were too intoxicated to remember ever having sex with me. It was the night before you left, Ikuto." she met his eyes, "I hadn't thought that it would be a problem because hey, I wouldn't get pregnant. That wouldn't happen to me." she pulled away from Ikuto's arms, "When I found out, I knew that you wouldn't even think of the possibility that I'd get pregnant because you wouldn't even REMEMBER ever having sex with me. So knowing that my child would never have a father figure in their life... that really got to me Ikuto." she said, tears returning as she continued. She told him the whole story.

They stood in that room for what seemed like hours before Amu finished telling her story. Telling Ikuto about how her little secret that was playing in the next room was also his.

When she finished she exhaled slowly and closed her eyes, almost instantly she felt as though a weight had been lifted off her shoulders. Now, everything depended on Ikuto and how he reacted to the news.

After he didn't say anything for a few minutes, Amu hesitantly met his eyes and blinked.

The violinist had tears in his eyes.

"All these years..." he trailed off, "You have been raising Mizuki all these years by yourself, supporting both her and yourself for all these years without any help while I was away _playing in an orchestra_." His tone told her that he was incredibly upset with himself. "I can't believe you didn't call, or _something_ after you found out. Damnit Amu! You don't think I would have come home the moment I found out? You don't think I would have wanted to be apart of my daughters life?" He shook his head and pinched the bridge of his nose. "God... Amu... did you really think I was such a horrible person? Did I really give off that kind of impression?"

Amu bit her lip at all the questions he was throwing her before she lowered her head a little, "I'm sorry..." she whispered, "I was scared..."

A finger presented itself under her chin, forcing her to look back up and Ikuto's face was there, inches from her own.

"Amu... I loved you more than I've ever loved anything in the entire world. If you asked me to, I would have come home in a heart beat." he searched her golden eyes with his own midnight blue ones. "I still love you. Nothing will _ever_ change that." He then smiled, "And Mizuki is a great kid, I'm truly glad that I can call her my daughter..."

In that moment, Amu knew that Ikuto was being one-hundred percent honest. She could see the love in his eyes and feel her heart squeeze in her chest, "I love you too." she whispered softly.

Ikuto smiled before their heads moved closer together, and for the first time in a little over six years... their lips met and she knew, that everything would be alright.

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And the moment we've all been waiting for has finally happened! Ahhh! 33

Please review my lovelies 3 I always love hearing from you~


	11. Chapter 11

I'm so happy with how this story is going! By now I would have probably tossed it aside xD

Though with all the support that I get from you reviewers, I have been able to keep my head while writing this story, so thank you!

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Amu was surprised with how well Ikuto had taken the news. She knew for a fact that not everyone would have reacted so... nicely upon learning that they were actually a parent. It wasn't exactly a small issue.

She wondered if Ikuto realized just how important the whole situation was. Though he would have to be _really _dense not to understand. Of course, this was the guy who hadn't even thought about how much Mizuki resembled him.

Amu still couldn't get over that.

Right now she was trying to focus on the book that she held in her hands. She was staring at the words, though for the life of her she couldn't absorb the words that she was reading and found herself having to keep going back to the top of the page.

It had been four days since Ikuto found out about Mizuki. It didn't seem as though Ikuto had changed much. She wondered how things were going to happen from that point on.

"You look like you're thinking really hard." the voice had taken Amu by surprise and she wound up jumping a little before she turned her golden gaze onto a grinning Ikuto. "I was just coming by to see how you were doing before I left to go and get Mizuki from school."

At the mention of her daughter, Amu closed the book and scrambled out of bed. "Just give me a few minutes, I want to go with you today." She walked straight to her dresser and didn't have to look at Ikuto to know that he was giving her a stern look. "I feel much better today." she stated simply as she pulled out a sweater and a pair of jeans. "I'm sure getting some fresh air will do more good than bad Ikuto." she said before she turned and gestured for him to leave the room. "Now get out so I can change," she paused before she added on, "And don't even think about leaving without me."

Ikuto shook his head with a light sigh before doing as the pinkette had asked. It didn't take long before she reopened the door and offered a small smile at the midnight haired young man before starting to walk towards the front door.

Just as she was about to finish putting on her jacket, there was a knock on the door and she frowned a little. She didn't have time to react before Ikuto moved to open it.

"Amu, I was wondering if you had an answ-" Nagihiko blinked when he realized that it wasn't Amu who had opened the door. His expression melted from sheepish curiosity to confusion before his gaze flickered to Ikuto's side where Amu could be seen a little bit farther back. "Whats going on?" he asked with furrowed eyebrows.

Suddenly, Amu remembered exactly what had happened the day that Ikuto had taken her to the hospital and she winced before she took a few steps forward, gently pushing Ikuto aside who had instantly tensed up at the sight of Nagihiko.

"Nagi..." she trailed off slowly, "I don't think I will be able to give you a well thought out answer for a little while." she said, "I don't think this is something that can be taken lightly." Nagihiko's eyes were glued to Ikuto's and Amu thought that she might choke on the testosterone level, it was a familiar feeling and despite herself, she had to resist the urge to chuckle.

"What is _he _doing here?" Nagihiko asked with a frown and Ikuto snorted.

"I am here taking care of Amu." Ikuto said with gritted teeth as he leaned forward, "Though I'm sure you don't really understand what that means." Before he could elaborate, Amu elbowed the guy in the ribs and forced a laugh.

"Look, we're on our way to pick up Mizuki, Nagi." she said lightly, "So we can discuss this later."

Finally, Nagihiko's eyes were on Amu. They seemed to analyze hers before he slowly nodded, "Alright... take your time with thinking up an answer." He offered a tiny smile before shoving his hands into his pockets and hurrying off.

Before Ikuto could question the encounter, Amu walked out of the apartment. "We'd better hurry, I'd like to surprise Mizuki with my presence." That seemed to work since she could hear Ikuto close the door and take a few steps so that he was beside her.

"What was his question?"

Damn.

It looked like getting out of something like that wouldn't be so easy as she had hoped.

Looking over at Ikuto she sighed before looking away, "Nagihiko..." she trailed off, not sure if she should actually tell Ikuto the truth. Though after a few minutes of thought, she figured that she needed to start being more truthful. Especially if the guy wanted a spot in their daughters world. "He asked me to marry him." she had said it so softly, at first, she wasn't sure if Ikuto had heard her. When she looked over, judging by his serious expression, she could guess that he had heard her just fine. "I had told him that I would need time to think about it. That was why I was at the park that day."

She could hear Ikuto's sharp intake of air and she knew that he wasn't pleased with what he was hearing. They walked for a few minutes in silence. Just when she was about to change the subject, the young man beside her decided to speak up.

"You aren't going to say yes..." he trailed off, "Are you? I mean, we are finally back to getting along, and you said that you loved me yourself." When she glanced over, he was frowning.

Taking a deep breath, Amu held it for a moment before speaking. "I really don't know Ikuto." she said with a light head shake, "Nagihiko was there for me the _whole _time. It would be a lie if I told you that I didn't care about him." of course, she didn't care about him in the way that Nagihiko wished that she did. "And Mizuki really loves him, he has been here her whole life. To her he is practically her father-figure."

That seemed to get him, "Well I'm here now!" he exclaimed stopping in his tracks, "She doesn't need a father figure anymore, she can have the real thing Amu." he gently placed his hands on the pinkette's shoulders and she furrowed her eyebrows, "You would regret marrying someone like him Amu... especially since you love someone else."

She went to mention Mizuki but Ikuto spoke again, "You don't marry someone because you think it would be best for anyone else, you marry someone because you _love _them. No other reason. Do you think Mizuki would like it if she learned down the road that you married Nagi because you thought it would be the best option for her? Amu... I may not be the idea of the worlds 'greatest father'..." he trailed of before he offered a little bit of his usual sly smile, "Though I can work on it."

Reaching up, Amu carefully removed Ikuto's hands from her shoulders and held them for a second. "I believe you Ikuto... I really do. Though I just don't think it would be a good idea to rush into anything. Mizuki is just a five year old girl. I don't want her to feel too overwhelmed by anything." she thought about her next words carefully. "... If you want any form of relationship with me, we are going to have to start over. It has been a _long _time Ikuto. I've changed a lot in the time that you've been away."

Ikuto's smile softened, though she could tell that there was pain behind that gaze of his. "That makes complete sense Amu." he said with a nod, "So lets do that, let us begin from the start." he watched her with a careful eye before he nodded, as though confirming something to himself. "We will begin once you are fully recovered."

She giggled lightly before nodding, "That sounds like a good idea." she then blinked when she remembered something, "Oh my gosh! We need to hurry!" She doubted that the bell actually rang, though she was just really determined on her daughter seeing her the second she got out. Her little girl was such a trooper.

Ikuto laughed a little before they both started to run towards the preschool.

By the time they got there, Amu was completely out of breath. Though she was glad to see that they had gotten there before the bell rang. She bent over, her hands resting on her knees as she struggled to catch her breath.

She was going to have to start trying to get back into shape. Though she hadn't really put on any pounds, she certainly wasn't physically fit. If that short distance put her out, she definitely needed to start jogging again.

"Heh, you alright?" Though Ikuto was asking with a smug sounding voice, he also sounded a bit out of breath.

"Of course I am! Its been a while since I've ran like that."

it was then that the bell rang and instantly, Amu stood up straight with a smile on her face. Her cheeks were flushed red from the exertion and she didn't even notice that Ikuto was watching her with a soft expression.

"Mama!" The excited voice snapped Ikuto out of his reverie and he watched as the young girl leapt into her mothers arms. Amu held the girl close with a closed-eye smile.

"Hello there Starshine, I'm here." she whispered and Ikuto's smile became a bit more pronounced.

This was his family.

No way was he going to allow for that Nagi character to get in the way of him and his new-found family.

He would do his absolute best to get Amu to fall for him all over again.

He had to.

"Ikuto, can we have spaghetti for dinner?" Mizuki asked suddenly and the raven haired young man blinked in surprise at the random question before he frowned a little.

"Isn't that an Italian dish? What made you ask for that?" he was curious, though it probably had something to do with school.

The girl giggled, "We watched _Lady and the Tramp_ today in class." she said with a grin, "I think that you and mommy should share a plate." there was a gleam in her eye.

What a mischievous five year old. "No objections from me-" he was cut off with another elbow to the ribs and he sighed, "Then again, I think I already have ingredients for... something else."

Amu laughed a little and Mizuki giggled at the young mans dejected expression.

"Alright, lets get home before he gets too excited to walk."

The laughter of the two girls made Ikuto's heart swell in his chest and somehow he knew that everything would be alright in the end.

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Ahhh I really enjoyed writing this chapter c:

Do you guys think that Ikuto seems out of character? This is something that I've been wondering for a little bit now xD

I hope you guys liked it!

Please review~


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